Why there is a difference? - you will ask now -
It’s not only because of the difficulty of the flight itself. It is for all the
organization hassle when time and money is a factor. This brings up your level of
adrenaline even before you are in the aircraft.
What an enjoying moment when the runway lies behind, heading for the
ocean. Nothing stops you then, if plenty of fuel is on board and the engine keeps running.
What is
not true, last time Edmonton Center airspace was closed due to men
shortage. Montreal wanted me to go back after 30minutes into the flight. I
denied and continued with lots of discussion. lets see if NAV CANADA will
mail a full or reduced bill.
Fuel and routes
Plenty of fuel is the key for success. A
mistake can be to go without auxiliary tanking which ever aircraft
is used.
(how to construct
a safe and comfortable
environment for flying :-)
this tank arrangement would not pass today's FAA guidelines |
As slower the plane as more reserve is needed. Transport Canada
requires a 3h fuel reserve based on a flight-log with no tailwind compensation.
There was a time
Transport Canada inspected you and the aircraft, for the first two
crossings. Today nobody is asking anymore.
|
To give you a reference, even a Piper Malibu can be
on the edge of range when taking Alternate fuel in consideration, but ferry tanking for a
pressurized aircraft is more complicated.
Several outfits in the US are installing the tanks and they
are available for 1000$ for a
complete job. But today prices are up. 2000$ is more
realistic. A problem is the flight the other direction, to find legal tanking in Europe
is difficult. Or better
impossible
With one or two nicely welded aluminum boxes or several steel drums, you can
make 1350NM Goose Bay to Reykjavik or nearly the
same distance from St. John’s to Santa Maria with a C172. Stopping in Narsarsuaq
is only an option for pilots with to much money (now
most pilots stop in BGBW, fuel prices are lower as they used to be,
service is good and the skyrocketing ferry tank prices do the rest) or you have to because of weather,
problems and when the type of aircraft doesn’t let you any choice. For a light
4-seater a distance of 1350NM is fine but head winds are always and for most aircraft a
no-go. Today with GPS navigation crosswind is no
problem anymore and aircraft that have precision fuel flow gages combined
with GPS can even try out to fly into a headwind.
Long time ago leaving from Canada, the weather briefing
was superb.
Today a standard
fax briefing must do. Winds aloft are
mostly correct. But again, fuel not water is
the elixir of life.
Over-weight
Over gross-weight operations varies from 10 to 25%. A C172 makes
a nice tail wheel (better tail skid) airplane when the pilot gets out of it. Considering out of aft C.G. as far more dangerous than
over-weight.
For pilots believing in the twin-engine concept, all this has a bitter
taste, the chance to lose an engine is doubled and for the first hours of flight
light twins are not going to make it on one engine, when fitted with
large extra tanks.
Possibilities
You don’t have to take the express routes.
 |
(Greenland lies between Iceland and Canada) In the North, you have
options from 480NM to 670NM for the longest leg between two airports.
Today a lot of
aircraft using the far northern route to avoid tanking.
|
Nearly all aircraft are capable
but it is not recommended to go with more than two persons on board,
except for larger aircraft. You have to calculate the weight of that
additional person, it is more baggage, equipment and survival gear.
And do not forget that an Archer for
example has only one door, to get out with two from the front seats might
be already a challenge.
Special aircraft
Let’s focus on special aircraft. There are pilots that
fly around the world for the 50th anniversary of the maiden
flight of the AN2, it’s obvious that they use one.
In Lithuania or Poland huge ferry tanks can be ordered fairly inexpensive.
AG planes filling the hopper, heavily loaded STOL aircraft, home-builds
and old Warbird, all of them often little under equipped, makes the flight more
difficult.
More and more experimentals cross the
Atlantic with the most advanced panels and systems in the industry. They
are high standard kitplanes and out perform the Cessnas, Pipers etc...They
are a challange too, avionic and systems have to be understood when
leaving home.
The minimum requirements are redundant
gyro instruments and for the avionic a NAVCOM with GS, GPS, Transponder/C.
Costs
In some cases, it gets quite expensive but if the aircraft is in
good condition it is always better and cheaper to fly it. A container is only necessary
for L39 jet-fighter coming from Moscow or a Pitts special shipped to Australia.
Aircraft deliveries for common light aircraft are flat rated in the
range of 5000 to 7000$
for a NAT flight. With the lower US dollar and 9/11
induced problems 6000 to 9000$ is a better reference number.
For special aircraft, calculation is more difficult and it takes
4500$ in fuel alone for a AN2, ( year 2000) versus 2500$
for a Do27 (in 1999)
fuel prices in general have increased at least by 30% the only exception
is Greenland.
If the owner is on board, the overall costs are
normally a little higher. There are the expenses for two and ferry-pilots
alone push it more except in bad weather. Only they hate to pay 8$ for a
beer in Iceland or to stay at a the 160$ airport hotel, knowing tomorrows weather is
unflyable. Everybody has to pay the landing fees (or handling), expect 100$ per stop but
sometimes at the wrong time or place it triples easily.
In Greenland on a Sunday you will pay even more,
around 1000$ is the price-tag today to open the airport.
Survival and equipment
Survival gear and other equipment is another factor. This you
have to rent, it runs around 1000$ including high charges for return shipment
(do not even try to take the raft with you in the
check in airline baggage) or you can
buy the equipment for at least 3000$ HF-Radio not included. Going with a ferry pilot makes most of
this charges obsolete.
The HF radio can be substituted with
an iridium satellite phone. VHF coverage is often better as publications
show, but it happens that you will be alone from time to time when no
airliners are near for relay.
An equipped live-raft with cover and immersion suits for all on board
is needed (if you don’t take suits, you don’t
need the live-raft either). You have to wear them with the upper part
wrapped around the seat (there are some pilots that think that they can slip into the suit
after splash-down, no chance! at least not in an
unpressurized plane!) Further a
floatable ELT called EPIRB is needed, best to get a
newer type that uses 406Mhz. (nobody
will find you without and the luck is used up by landing the plane and making it into the raft).
For the glacier fans; Greenland is actually one big one. The ice-cap has to be crossed at
least in 11000ft, minimum IFR is often FL130. Sitting on the ice after a forced landing will be
cold after some minutes, so polar equipment is a must.
When space and weight is a problem, the covered-raft can be use as a tent. Gloves, caps
and warm clothes have to be handy in the aircraft; imagine flying a twin in 18000ft over
the ice and your so very very reliable cabin-heater quits. It’s only 3h more to fly.
Get yourself one little John bottle or maybe two, when you drink to much
coffee it has to go somewhere. For female pilots it’s more tricky, the lady’s
adapter that you can order for the bottle is not working, specially when sitting half in
the immersion suit.
But the suits are good for this too, only I have my
personal one and the rental suits :-)
Procedures
Every so often you make a position report like, calling:
Oceanic Radio;
'position' call-sign, lat. long., flight level, passing time;
'estimate' long. lat., estimate time;
long. lat. 'next'
(write it down best into a flightlog or read it from the
Garmin 530 FP page)
After this great report, you feel like an airliner.
Where they add the temp wind speed and direction, skip this part if you do
not have a real FMS. They are on the same frequency (except in
lower level over Greenland) and often you need them for relay because VHF coverage is limited or the self-installed ham-radio
is not so perfect again.
Now for all this hard radio work you need compensation: some cake or
fruits should be on board. In winter you have to take the food and drinks with you to the
FBO or hotel. (when flying into the USA be aware of
the requirements of the department of Agriculture) If you’re
flying a Cessna for more then 10 hours the lower side heating outlets can
be used to warm something up. (be careful it really works
:-).
Maps
If you fly VFR (5500ft altitude limit) or IFR, you need enroute
maps and approached plates. Jeppesen offers the trip kit Eastern Canada, Atlantic and
where else you go. As a VFR map, get the GNC, some ONC and Canadian VFR maps. This all
together is 300 to 400$.
For all flights a GPS is the primary
source of navigation and a ADF is a great backup if you know how to use
it.
Most aircraft have a GPS installed und
connected to the autopilot taking along a second handheld GPS is a good
practice. Most GPS data areas do not extent across the Americans, NAT and
Europe region. The cards have to be switched in Canada or Greenland. Even
with correct data in them some waypoints have to be entered by the
user with Lat. Long. coordinates.
Time & Weather
A time frame of one weeks has to be considered; for example
a STOL Dornier, flying most of 9 days, it took 48h from Paris to New-York the far
northern route. The same trip was done with a C310 in 1 ½ days.
It is normal to sit out a headwind or a frontal zone
to pass by.
Aircraft ferry is done year round by professionals.
Winter has the lowest temperatures but not necessarily the worst weather.
-30 Celsius brings a lot of problems to the aircraft systems and the pilot
but there is no icing for sure! Icing conditions are common in the NAT
region, during Spring and Fall it's a real danger and only way out is to
climb or top the clouds, during Summer level 050 is mostly warm and save
but the waves look big and the VHF coverage is non-existing.
For the power-setting it is recommended to fly 55% to 65% MCP, look the
POH and for most aircraft at around 62% speed and
consumption are at optimum. Good
leaning procedure is important.
